Modern Rugs

February 18, 2015

Living in a 1920’s bungalow, I want to maintain the character, but still decorate in a modern fresh way. Having hardwood floors throughout our house, allows us to play with pattern in area rugs. Our living room rug has seen better days. We’ve lived on it for over 4 years now, and it’s served us well. Now I’m an the hunt for something new. I’m looking at rugs that will give my space a little modern edge. And right now, that means geometric shapes and lines and a little touch of blush for me.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Number 2. is probably the safest with it being just grey and white. But, the touch of blush/pink in the others makes for a bit more unexpected and edgy design for a living room. Is there one of these rugs that speaks to you more then the others? Are you loving the trends of this season? I think geometric shapes and pastels are still here for a while.

Design / etc.

Living Room Makeover

February 17, 2015

I’m excited to finally share a little living room makeover I worked on over the Thanksgiving break. I helped my sister-in-law, Jess, who lives in Idaho, give her new grey sectional a little personality.

Jess already had a couple great furniture pieces to start with. We had 4 main goals for the room:

1. Give the sectional personality.

2. Create a gallery focal wall.

3. Rethink the mantel.

4. Accessorize the surfaces.

Head over to The Land of Nod‘s blog, Honest to see all the details and the full reveal. And then come back here and let me know what you think.

etc.

5 Sweet Treats to Make for Your Sweetheart

February 14, 2015

Woot woot! Friday is here. Are you ready for Valentine’s Day? If you don’t have something special for your sweetheart, I’ve found 5 sweet treats that you could whip up tomorrow. Be sure to head over and check out these fabulous blogs and the bloggers behind them.

Pink and Red Cheerios // Painted Heart Sugar Cookies

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sandwich Cookies

Watercolor Cookies // Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream

We decided this morning that we would get away for the weekend. Lon’s parents are visiting this week, so we’re heading to Yosemite for a couple night of camping. I love this park, be sure to head over to my Instagram if you want to see some gorgeous California scenery over the next couple of days.

DIY

DIY Valentine’s Day Felt Pendants

February 13, 2015

So, for my friends that couldn’t make it to the West Elm LA event this last Sunday, I’ve got the full DIY for you here. With a few simple supplies and the printable patterns I’ve created for you, you can whip one of these Valentine’s Day felt pendants up in no time at all. And really these would be fun to have up all year long.

I offered my guests 3 sample options, the geometric heart (20 2″ right angle triangles), the XOXO and the YOU + ME, but they created even more designs and styles.

The base of the pendants are a 14″ wide by 18″ tall piece of felt (I used this wool blend felt from Joann Fabric and Craft Stores). I sewed a simple 1″ pocket for the dowel rod at the top. The base of the pendants can be cut in a V or inverted V by folding the base in half and the cutting out a triangle. Then, simply cut out shapes in a contrasting color using the printable patterns or your own design. Attach the cut shapes to the pendant using Beacon Felt Glue, it works so much better then hot glue or white glue. It dries clear and doesn’t make the felt really stiff. I cut 3/8″ wooden dowels to 18″ long and used a piece of twine to hang the pendant.

I big thanks to Joann Fabric and Craft Stores for sponsoring this event. They provided the black and white felt and fabric glue for all the crafters at the event.

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DIY

West Elm LA Felt Pendant Workshop Recap

February 12, 2015

I’m excited to share with you a few pictures from Sunday’s West Elm LA event. This store is amazing! 2 gorgeous, light filled floors of beautiful West Elm product. We took over the top floor dining area. It was the perfect crozy little spot. It was really such a fun, relaxed morning. We ate treats, visited, crafted and then shopped together – what could be better?

I had a lot of fun making snacks for the event. Here’s what I served:

Pretty bottled sodas

Grapefruit yogurt parfaits

Chocolate chipotle shortbread

Chocolate chunk shortbread

London Fog shortbread

White Cheddar Dill Scones

All the guests took home a fun bag of goodies. I’ll share more about the contents of the bags soon, but I need to give a big thanks to my sponsors. They helped make this lovely morning possible.

Guest were given white or black pendants as a base. I provided a couple patterns for them and lots of colored felt. I was so impressed with the creativity and uniqueness of everyone pendants. Some serious talent showed up Sunday morning. Oh, and I will also share to how-to with you and the printable patterns very soon.

My daughter, Denali, took a lot of these shots. I’m super impressed with her skills and eye for detail. I’ll be hiring her to take more pics for me again soon.

DIY / etc.

Free Printable Valentine’s Day Chocolate Bar Wraps

February 11, 2015

Need a quick Valentine’s gift idea for your kiddos or sweetheart? You can print off these chocolate bar wraps and customize a candy bar for someone you love in no time at all.

Last year I made a set of printable Valentine’s Day cards and I liked the designs so much, I decided to use them again. I’ve created free printable PDFs for you, you can download all 4 of these designs HERE!

Simply cut out the wrap with a pair of scissors and then using double sided tape close the wrap around the bar. I made these wraps to fit a variety of chocolate bars. Remove the original paper wrapper and leave the bar in it’s pretty gold foil. These are Ghirardelli dark chocolate bars with salted caramel – I want someone to give me one.

And on the back, I added a spot to write who the gift is to and from. This is what I’ll be sending to my kid’s teachers this year for Valentine’s Day.

Have you given Valentine’s Day a thought yet? I need to get my kid’s class valentine’s ready pretty soon here. But, at least I have the teacher gift covered now.

Food & Drink

Citrus Yogurt Parfaits

February 9, 2015

Our trees are loaded with citrus right now, so we are enjoying oranges picked right from the tree and freshly squeezed juice daily.

These Citrus Yogurt Parfaits are perfect for breakfast or served as a healthy dessert. Oranges, pink grapefruit and blood oranges give these parfaits a beautiful color palette. You’ll definitely want to serve these in clear glasses to show of the gorgeous layers.

Simply layer citrus that has been peeled and segmented with greek yogurt drizzled with honey and top with some toasted coconut. How easy is that?

I served these is little mini cups at my West Elm LA event yesterday. They were a perfect little breakfast appetizer (that’s what I’m calling them).

Design

Friday’s Fabulous 5 – Pink Interiors

February 7, 2015

I’ve been sharing a lot of pink lately, but I’m just loving it in grown up spaces so much. My girls definitely have pink in their room, but I’m a fan of this color seeping into other rooms in the home. It’s soft and quite unexpected. You aren’t going to see it in every home, and that might be why I like it so much. I think it’s a color that could totally be done wrong and end up looking like something for the 80s and early 90s. But, I’ve found some great examples of pink done right! (And for even more pink inspiration, check out my Pink Pinterest Board.)

Wall and Side Table // Entryway

Rug

Barn Door // Half Wall

And yes, I realize its’ actually Saturday that I’m posting this Friday Fab 5, but yesterday was a busy day. Better late then never, right? I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

DIY

DIY X and O Picture Holders

February 5, 2015

I’m always looking for ways to get pictures off my phone and into my home. So, I made some little X and O pictures holders. I love the look of these imperfect X and O’s. And you know I can’t get enough gold accessories in my home.

This is such an easy DIY. All you need is Crayola’s Air Dry Clay, a couple large paper clips and some paint. Simply, shape the clay into the desired shapes, insert a paper clip into both of them and allow them to dry for 3-4 days. Then tape off the paper clips and spray painted both of them metallic gold.

etc. / Food & Drink

Cherry Ripe Brownies

February 4, 2015

It’s funny how tastes and flavors of your childhood come back to you and you just crave them. Cherry Ripe bars are one of my childhood favorites. Growing up in Papua New Guinea, Australian treats were what filled the small grocery store. These coconut and cherry chocolate bars aren’t easy to find in the States. I’ll admit that I ordered some on Amazon for a very pretty penny. But, oh boy was it worth it. And now I’ve been playing around with recipes, trying to recreate this candy bar in my kitchen

We have suffered through a couple batches of brownies, trying to get the recipe (well, technically our waist lines have suffered). These brownies are pretty much spot on for Cherry Ripe flavor. And since Valentine’s day is quickly approaching, I decided to cut these into cute heart shapes.

Cherry Ripe Brownies
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour

2 cups of sweetened shredded coconut (a 7 oz. bag)
1 8oz. jar of maraschino cherries (drained and stems removed)
1 egg

dark chocolate for drizzling

In a medium sized pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the sugar and cocoa well. In another bowl, beat the eggs and then add them to the butter, sugar and cocoa mixture. When the eggs are mixed in well, add the vanilla and the flour and stir until the batter is smooth.

In a food processor or blender, chop up the cherries finely. Add the coconut and egg and pulse to combine all the ingredients.

Pour the batter into a greased 9X13″ pan. Spoon the coconut cherry mixer evenly over the top of the brownie batter. Spread with a knife to get a even layer (it won’t be perfect, don’t worry). Bake at 325F for about 25-30 mins, or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the brownies to cool. Cut into squares or cut out with a heart shaped cookie cutter like I did. Melt the dark chocolate and drizzle over the brownies. I poured the melted chocolate into a small ziploc bag and then just cut one corner off to make a little piping bag.

Cheers to all my Aussie friends, thanks for the yummy inspiration. I think you guys are really going to like this recipe.